Publikationsdatenbank

Untersuchungen zum Verhalten von Mutterkühen und ihren Kälbern nach der Geburt (2001)

Art

Hochschulschrift

Autor

Poppe, Annett

Quelle

Berlin, 2001 — 115 Seiten

Kontakt

Tierklinik für Fortpflanzung

Königsweg 65
Haus 27
14163 Berlin
+49 30 838 62618
fortpflanzungsklinik@vetmed.fu-berlin.de

Abstract / Zusammenfassung

For this doctoral thesis 622 cows of different races and different ageshave been observed shortly after delivery of their calves and have beencompared regarding their behavior.Most important objective of mother cow breeding is the production ofviable calves.Decisive are the following points:• Birth of vital calves• Fast development of a close mother-child relation• Early and independent intake of sufficient amount of colostrum by the calf• Health of the calves until separation from the mother1. The attitude of mother cows to their newborns depends on inner and outer factors. Important inner factors are the age of the cow, the race as well as the course of the delivery. Significant outer factors are the stress of the mother as well as the arrangement of the environment during the delivery.2. Compared to heifers cows are more experienced in dealing with calves and in most cases their motherly behavior is stronger developed.3. From an ethological point of view cow races for milk and meat production are suitable for mother cow breeding. The different behaviors are developed to different degrees. Cows of the race "Schwarzbuntes Milchrind" ("Black Checkered Milk Cow") are especially suited to be a nurse.4. Calves of cows start suckling sooner and are satisfied quicker than calves of heifers.which did not start suckling by themselves and needed to be supported as well as calves from twin deliveries.7. The supervision of the course of delivery during the shed period of mother cows is of great importance to ensure the vitality of the calves.8. The supervision of early intake of sufficient amount of colostrum by the calf has to be ensured during the shed period of mother cows. Also under optimum conditions calves of mother cows take colostrum later than recommended in intensive calf production.9. Special attention has to be paid to the optimization of the environment of the mother and its newborn calf The separating instinct of the delivering cow has to be taken into account by opaque box walls. Doing this a delivery delay as a result of distraction by neighbor cows and calves as well as unwanted character forming could be counteracted. The nature of the floor is of importance for the newborn calf. Delivery boxes should be equipped with dry nonslip floor covering.